Depression is a common disease. According to statistics, about 25% females in the global population bad been experiencing depression in their lives, and about 10% males had been experiencing depression (referring to Modern Psychology written by Ch'un-Hsing Chang). World Health Organization (WHO) published, “The incidence of depression in the world is about 11%. At present, there are about 340 million psychological depressed patients in the world, and the number is increasing. It is found in the investigation that depression will increase to be the number two common disease in the world from now on to 20 years later.”
At present, anti-depression pharmaceuticals consist mainly Prozac, Paxil and Zoloft, etc., which belong to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRT), and norepinephrine and dopamine reuptake inhibitor (NDRI), inhibiting the uptake of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), norepinephrine (NE) and dopamine (DA). The mechanism by which these pharmaceuticals function is by increasing the amount of human neurotransmitters such as 5-HT so as to decrease and alleviate the symptoms of depression.
However, these pharmaceuticals have various side effects of different severities, such as increased suicide rate, headache, giddiness, vertigo, insomnolence, hypersomnia, tinnitus, thirsty, apocleisis, orexis, increased body weight, increased blood pressure, stomach upset, regurgitation nausea, emesis, dyspepsia, diarrhea, constipation, leg pain, skin rash, dither, convulsions, hyperhidrosis, edema, sexual appetite, impotence, etc. In recent years, the depression pharmaceuticals, such as Prozac, etc., had become a serious social problem. In 2004, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the United States further mandated the pharmaceutical companies to revise product labels to clearly state the side effects and cautions in the instructions of 32 major anti-depression pharmaceuticals in the market, and emphasized to physicians and nurses that these pharmaceuticals might increase children's and adolescents' suicide rate. Among them, Paxil was even found to be harmful in 1996, and has been recalled continually from the market since 2001. In June 2004, the New York State Attorney General accused GlaxoSmithKline Company of the Great Britain of beguilingly concealing the research report of the linkage between Paxil and “increased risk of suicidal behavior and tendencies in adolescents.” In light of the current situation, the search for a new generation of pharmaceuticals with fewer side effects and more pronounced/potent anti-depression qualities has become the center of attention of the entire pharmaceutical world.
It is therefore attempted by the applicant to deal with the above situation encountered in the prior art.